Fast passage for Lively Lady

Historic yacht Lively Lady has arrived triumphantly in Fremantle – five days early after the fastest leg of her round-the-world trip so far.
The crew were welcomed into the Australian port near Perth after 12 days at sea averaging an incredible 144 miles a day. A crowd of ex-pat Portsmouth residents who have been following her progress gathered on shore to cheer.

The 1,800-mile journey was the 14th leg completed since the boat set off in July 2006.
On board were project mastermind and skipper Alan Priddy and Portsmouth youngsters Donna Anderson, a shop worker from Hilsea, and Jason Rankin, an apprentice boatbuilder from Paulsgrove.
Also on the historic boat for the leg was Nigel Rose, grandson of Sir Alec Rose who famously sailed Lively Lady around the world in the late 1960s.

He said: ‘After sailing Lively Lady in the Southern Ocean I now know how hard the voyage must have been for my grandfather.’
The crew had suffered a setback just 24 hours after setting off from Melbourne, when they had to return to land as conditions at sea were too rough.

Mr Priddy said: ‘Everyone we spoke to said that it was potentially the most difficult leg of the project and very few people sailed out of Melbourne and turned left – as the weather and sea conditions are usually too bad.
‘But once we set off again, the wind turned with us and the passage couldn’t have been much better if we had ordered the wind ourselves.
‘In short, Lively Lady averaged 144 miles per day which is totally and utterly amazing.’
After arriving with days to spare before their flights, the young people on the leg have been booked to do a tour of local schools and talk about their experiences.

Then they will fly home to Portsmouth and the next pair of young people on the round-the-world trip will fly to Fremantle to prepare for the leg to Singapore. After several more legs the boat is due to sail back to Gunwharf, Portsmouth, on July 5.

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